UCA secured its tenth winning season under Coach Clint Conque on Saturday night in a 24-14 win against Lamar. With the victory the Bears (6-2, 4-1 SLC) further solidified their chances at a Southland Conference championship with only two conference games remaining, but Conque wasn’t happy with his team’s performance.

Central Arkansas put itself back in the Southland Conference picture with its victory over McNeese State but, though it has a chance to win its first official league championship, UCA is focused on posting a winning season first.

Why UCA Won: UCA (5-2, 3-1 SLC) scored twice in the final 1:10 of the game, to sneak out of Lake Charles, La. with a 27-26 win in the fifth playing of the ‘Red Beans & Rice Bowl.’ UCA trailed McNeese State (4-2, 1-2 SLC) 12-10 at half and for the majority of the second half, but the Bears received big plays from all facets late in the game to find a way to win. This was the Bears’ fourth trip to Cowboy Stadium in Lake Charles and the first time they left victorious.

For the second week in a row, UCA dealt with rain. But this time it wasn’t a torrential downpour and unlike last week the Bears found a way to win, defeating the Nicholls State Colonels, 34-14, in front of an umbrella-filled crowd of 4.357 at Estes Stadium.

Jonathan Woodard earned the University of Central Arkansas’ sixth player of the week award in the first five weeks of the season on Monday when he was named the Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week.

Junior quarterback Wynrick Smothers earned his second SLC Offensive Player of the Week honor after the Bears’ 24-20 victory over No. 3 Sam Houston State on Saturday at First Security Field at Estes Stadium.

UCA left no room for doubt in its home opener Saturday night, beating the Bacone College Warriors 70-3. It was the most points scored in the 13-year Clint Conque era, and the most scored by a Bears team since 1976 when UCA scored 79 against Central Methodist. Conque called the performance a “pretty complete game.”

University of Central Arkansas quarterback Wynrick Smothers threw touchdown passes to five different receivers Saturday night in leading the Bears to a 42-20 victory over the Murray State Racers at Roy Stewart Stadium.